Moneyville

Headlines are one of the most important parts of an advertisement. Their intent is "to stop people in their tracks."

Some people never read past the headline, so it must be persuasive enough to sell the product or encourage people to read further. What makes headlines "reach out and touch someone"? Catchy wording is one key. But there is much else to know about how headlines are written and what qualities they must possess.

An effective headline has some or all of the following qualities:

- Conveys an idea or intrigues people.
- Speaks to one person at a time; even if 20 million people see a headline, each person must feel singled out.
- Uses words with an "announcement" quality,such as a free offer, a price, or information about value.
- Starts to tell a story.

Uses active verbs.

Is careful with adjectives.

Doesn't forget adverbs.

Isn't too clever.

Makes every sentence lead into the next.

Ties everything to the main idea and headline.

Good ad writers know that certain words have been proven very effective in ads. Here are a few:

• FREE
• PROVEN
• YOU
• SAVE
• ANNOUNCING
• RESULTS
• VALUE
• HEALTHY
• SALE
• MONEY
• NEW
• EASY
• WIN
• SAVE
• GUARANTEED

There are also words that ad writers avoid using because they turn people away:

• BUY
• DEATH
• LOSS
• WRONG
• HARD
• BAD
• WORRY
• SELL
• FAIL
• OBLIGATION
• DEAL
• DIFFICULT